A1C George W. Hart – Killed in Service, 1955

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George William Hart was born on 12 August 1932, in Quincy, Massachusetts. His parents are Robert H. & Gertrude (Harrington) Hart. George W. Hart had once lived in Caledonia before he came to Marion. Hart had worked as a carrier for the Marion Star for seven years. He resided here for sixteen years and was a graduate of Harding High School. Hart had been an employee at the Marion Engineering Depot prior to entering service.
George W. Hart entered service with the United States Air Force and completed basic training at Sampson Air Force Base. He would then be stationed for three years at Biloxi, Mississippi. He was stationed in Alaska for about one year prior to his death.

George W. Hart married Bonnie Jean (Pelk) of Marion, Ohio. They were wed on 22 February 1951, in Richmond , Indiana. Together they had two children, William Dewey Hart and Patricia Lynette Hart.
George W. Hart was serving in the U.S. Air Force in 1955 when he was killed in an aircraft crash. Hart was serving as an Airman First Class (A1C) aboard an C-47A (#43-15594), coming from Kodiak Naval Air Station, Alaska. Hart was serving with the 5039th Air Transport Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base. The aircraft was a cargo plane carrying barrels of fuel to drop at a military outpost in Sitkinak, Alaska. As the aircraft was circling to locate the drop location, they experience a downdraft. The aircraft was forced down into the mountaintop killing all aboard. The crash occurred on 12 June 1955. Reports of the crews that located the crash site noted the debris was covered in oil from the barrels, but had not ignited. There were six crewmen and four civilians aboard and all were killed.
A1C George W. Hart is buried in Chapel Heights Memory Gardens, Marion, Ohio.

Ten men in total gave their lives that day, seven military and three civilians.

The military men were:
Capt. Sumner M. Alpert,
Second Lt. Tullie Warren Moore,
Pfc. Thomas M. Gravel,
A2C Harold D. Bohm,
SFC John Murl Claxton,
A1C George William Hart, and
Cpl. Richard Langdon.

The civilians were employees of Western Electric Company:
Louis Julius Houck,
Kurt Alfred Hentschke, Sr. and
John Joseph Dupre.

Pfc. Danny W. Wanamaker – Vietnam Casualty

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Danny Wayne Wanamaker was born on 22 October 1944, in Marion, Ohio. His parents are Warren W. & Mary C. Wanamaker. At some point the Wanamakers moved to California. It is not know what year this was, but Danny W. Wanamaker listed California as home, when he enlisted. Wanamaker entered service on 3 August 1965, from Los Angeles, California.
Danny. W. Wanamaker served with the 101st Airborne Division “Screamin’ Eagles,” in Recon Platoon, HHC, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment. He would begin his tour in Vietnam on 7 February 1966, as a Light Weapons Infantryman. He would attain the rank of Private First Class (Pfc.), while serving in Vietnam. In July of 1966, in the prelude to Operation John Paul Jones, Pfc. Wanamaker would be killed in action by a mine. This occurred in Phu Yen Province South Vietnam, on 6 July 1966.
Pfc. Danny W. Wanamaker is buried in Los Angeles National Cemetery, Los Angeles, California. Pfc. Danny W. Wanamaker is remembered on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Washington, D. C., on Panel 09E Line 079.
Pfc. Danny Wanamaker is not listed on any Marion Honor Rolls. We will recognize his service here as having been born and once lived in Marion, Ohio, and gave his life for his country.

Cpt. Richard E. Fogle – World War Two Casualty

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Richard Emanuel Fogle was born on 7 January 1920, in Marion, Ohio. His parents are Emanuel & Louise Fogle, of Marion. Richard E. Fogle graduated from Harding High School with the Class of 1938. He married Dorothy (Bechtle) of Marion. Prior to entering service Fogle was employed with National City Bank as a teller.

Richard E. Fogle entered service on 21 October 1941, at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio. He saw training at Camp Wheeler, Georgia. He then attend Infantry Officer School at Fort Benning, Georgia. In October of 1942, Fogle received his Commission as a Second Lieutenant. He would then be assigned to Camp Claiborne, Rapides Parish, in central Louisiana; and Camp Shelby, Mississippi. In March of 1944, he went overseas for duty in England. In June of 1944, he was part of the invasion of Normandy, with the 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division “Tough ‘Ombres”.

On 22 July 1944, Cpt. Richard E. Fogle was killed in action, in France, while the 358th Regiment took heavy loses trying to take the island of Saint-Germain-sur-Sèves.
Cpt. Richard E. Fogle is buried in the Chapel Heights Memory Gardens, Marion, Ohio. Cpt. Richard E. Fogle is remembered on the Honor Roll, at the Veterans Memorial Park, in Marion, Ohio; on the west wall of the Marion County Courthouse; and on the World War II Veterans Memorial Wall, at the Marion Cemetery.

Marian June (Swope) Winton, World War Two Veteran

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Marian June Swope was born on 4 March 1920, in Marion, Ohio. Her parents are Albert E. & Goldie O. (Cotner) Swope. Marian J. Swope attended Marion City Schools and was a 1938 graduate of Harding High School. Ms. Swope would become a nurse in the U. S. Army nurses Corps. during World War Two. She would serve in England and France. She was a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. She also had a sister who served in the United States Navy, in World War Two, Ruth E. Swope.

Swope on the Harding Harald Staff, 1938

In 1943, while serving in a field hospital in England, she would become the nurse for Colonel Walter F. Winton Jr. Colonel Winton was a paratrooper recently returning from the invasion of Sicily. When the Colonel’s brother, Tyler Winton came to the hospital to visit him, June and Tyler were introduced. They stayed in contact with each other as the war progressed. As the war moved into France, they two would become closer and plan to marry. They planned for a marriage, in a field hospital in Rheims, for 22 December 1944. But they had to postpone the marriage ceremony, as an air raid by the Germans had foiled the plans for the day. Not to be denied their planned wedding, they were married the next day. June would wear a silk wedding dress. The silk was provided by a friend of Tyler’s, the silk was from a parachute. One of June’s fellow nurses was able to sew the silk into a dress for her wedding gown.
After returning from the war, the couple would move along the southern border, where Tyler was employed with the Border Patrol. When he retired in 1973, they would settle in Destin, Florida.
June and Tyler raised a son, Michael, and daughter Rand, together. June would continue after the war as a nurse. She was well known as a compassionate pediatric nurse. In fact she was known as the “Smurf Nurse,” due to the gifts she gave the children.
Her husband, Tyler would die in 1996, and Marian “June” (Swope) Winton would die on 28 June 2007, in Destin, Florida. Marian J. Swope is listed on the World War Two Memorial Wall, in Marion, Ohio, to remember her service to her country.

PO3C Ronald J. Earhart – Vietnam Era Casualty

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Ronald Joe Earhart was born in Carey, Ohio, on 25 August 1946. His parents were Joe W. & Virginia (Bayes) Earhart. Ronald lived most of his life in Marion, Ohio. Ronald attended classes at Harding High School.
Ronald J. Earhart entered service in 1964, joining the United States Navy. Earhart was a Petty Officer 3rd Class (PO3C), aboard the USS Coucal (ASR-8). The USS Coucal (ASR-8) was a submarine rescue ship. While the USS Coucal was docked at Inchon, Korea, Earhart had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. It was reported to be accidental. Earhart was evacuated to Fascom Hospital in Japan, where he died from his injuries on 7 September 1968. Earhart was to be discharged from the navy in less than a month. He was 22 years old at the time of his death. Ronald J. Earhart is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery
Carey, Wyandot County, Ohio.
PO3C Ronald J. Earhart is remembered on Honor Roll at the Veterans Memorial Park in Marion, Ohio.